Talking Allergies

Our school has just surprised us with a letter indicating that every Friday is Pizza Day! Our son has just started the school and the teacher talked briefly to us about birthdays in the class but never mentioned this at all - it took us totally by surprise. We have to fill in a form about whether or not we want to participate. We want to but are unable to which is not an option on the form option. 24 birthdays + approximately 40 pizza days leads to a lot of exclusion. How should we go about tackling this? I don't think we can circumvent it this year as already hundreds of children and parents are happily planning their Fridays. We believe since it works for nut allergic children, that it has totally off the radar of the staff.

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myself: seasonal allergies, chemical sensitivities
son 2007: allergic to sesame and raw eggs
daughter 2009: no allergies
daughter 2011: severe eczema, no allergies

Friday is always pizza day at our kid's school as well. Between our 2 kids, they have attended 3 different schools, and at all 3 schools, Friday has always been pizza day. "Hurray" for many parents, "Boo" for those dealing with food allergies. Our son has never eaten the delivered pizza on pizza day. My kids tell us that only around half the kids participate anyway. I will often send in our own safe, homemade pizza, and our kids have been fine with that - our daughter eats it too (even though she could eat the school-delivered pizza). I really try to focus our son on enjoying his own yummy food (he's getting older now, so I don't call it his "yummy" food any longer), but I make sure he is going to have something similar, that HE will enjoy. What I thought would be an issue for him has never materialized. As long as he has something he enjoys, (I do make the effort to try and make it similar to what others are having... particularly when he was younger) then, he doesn't question that he is eating something different. He's now 10, in grade 5.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

It's never been an issue for my son either, and he is dairy-allergic. Pizza has always been a weekly "hot lunch" choice, so while most parents paid for it, there were always a few kids that didn't have it. I just sent him his usual lunch and he never, ever complained. Mind you - he didn't eat at the school until he was in Grade 3, I brought him home every day until then. Dairy (especially the worst invention ever - yogurt tubes!) was in almost every lunchbox, so I didn't trust that it was safe for him. Hot lunch was 3 times a week at our school, and for the past 3 years (Grade 4,5,6) he never got it once. He never felt excluded, it's just his "normal". Same for every birthday party he's ever gone to - he's never eaten the meal or the cake, but I've always sent something yummy for him anyways and it never bothered him. He's 12 now.

My teenager is the same yet the rare times that someone makes the effort to include her by getting safe food she is very appreciative. So I don't know that "she doesn't mind" but that, as you said, it's their normal.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

I was just comtemplating my food strategy approach after reading responsed and another letter appeared in our hand - "Real Food For Real Kids" has now taken over my kid's school on Mondays. So we are up to all Mondays, all Fridays and 24 in class party exclusions - without prior notification or discussion. Quoting exactly from the company's website: "Family Style Lunch: Unless a child has an allergy or dietary restriction, all kids get to enjoy the same menu". And so for the other kids, they just have to sit their and eat their cold sunbutter sandwich. I understand if my child was going to a restaurant and could not be accommodated, but he is going to school to receive an education...

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myself: seasonal allergies, chemical sensitivities
son 2007: allergic to sesame and raw eggs
daughter 2009: no allergies
daughter 2011: severe eczema, no allergies

I'm not sure where you live Ginger but that is an incredible amount of food! Does your school address the issue of food allergies a all?
In Canada, education falls under the provincial jurisdiction and protection varies from province to province.
In the USA, you have federal safe guards such as the FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education and Section 504 of the ADA, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

So now I'm following the story I saw in the paper - and posted it in the News section

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/educati ... sk-in-peel

The Toronto Anaphylaxis Education group is going to talk about this topic next week. I feel my kid is somewhat safe as the Real Foods company omitted sesame from the school and it does not seem to be a pizza pizza issue for sesame (my son is not eating either) - but I believe there to be too much unnecessary exclusion. It is just my hopes that the schools would move away from food related events. It is not part of the educational curriculum. His class has five epipen kids and once you mix in a couple of children with diabetes or celiac - there are just too many problems with the increase of food activities in schools.

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myself: seasonal allergies, chemical sensitivities
son 2007: allergic to sesame and raw eggs
daughter 2009: no allergies
daughter 2011: severe eczema, no allergies

We are in a very similar situation - and our daughter is allergic to milk, among other things.

We got a note last night indicating that every Friday is 'hot lunch day' - choice of pizza, pizza wrap or sub. In our case, we were just at the school yesterday to discuss something and the school did not even mention that this was being sent home that same day...

Our daughter is in JK, and the kids eat in the classroom. Even if they wash everyone's hands and the table surface after, that still makes for a very gooey cheese smear mess almost everywhere (clothes, anywhere kids touch during lunch - in/under desks, chairs...) that has to be used by our daughter for the rest of the day. We are not comfortable with the situation - but particularly because it is an activity that seems to be planned, organized and endorsed by the school. We understand that milk products are in the class every day - nobody can control what other parents send in - and we try to teach her to be aware (as much as a 3 year old can be). However, this seems different because it is something that the school has complete control over, there are obviously other options available, and it seems they are knowingly putting our daughter at increased risk on these days.

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daughter - 2008 - allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, shellfish, tuna, milk & eggs (outgrew soy allergy)
son - 2010 - no known allergies
husband - no allergies
me - no allergies

My parents clipped me a new article so for any of you that have old newspapers at home:
National Post
Thursday October 4, 2012
COMMENT A10 - Matt Gurney
"Stop Peel's plan to slice pizza days"
Here's two quotes to get you interested:

"School pizza lunch days are endangered due to liability concers over food allergies, specifically to wheat and gluten"

"Wheat and gluten allergies, which are certainly unpleasant to live with, aren't usually as serious as allergies to peanuts"

Not a mention of dairy anywhere...

I'm thinking Matt Gurney is going to need to get some emails:
mgurney@nationalpost.com

I've posted it in the News forum as well...
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/201 ... pizza-day/

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myself: seasonal allergies, chemical sensitivities
son 2007: allergic to sesame and raw eggs
daughter 2009: no allergies
daughter 2011: severe eczema, no allergies

I remember when pizza days started in JK at my daughter's school. We were concerned for sure but we worked with the school to make sure that measures were in place to keep her safe and the classroom clean. We were fortunate that she was in a small class of generally well behaved children and that there was one adult supervisor specifically for that class. This level of supervision is not in place or possible in all schools.

We felt that if the risk reduction measures were followed (all children washed after eating, all tables washed, no wandering during lunch, close adult supervision, my daughter washed her hands before and after eating) then this situation could present a learning opportunity for both our daughter and her classmates. Her friends learned how to eat pizza safely around her and she learned that she could be with her friends while they ate it. Pizza is a food which we encounter regularly at birthday parties and special celebrations. Pizza is a hard food to escape in our society! My daughter is now in grade 6 and her friends know exactly what to do when they eat pizza or any other food that she is allergic too. They wash and clean up after eating. It was really helpful for her friends to learn this lesson in a safe supervised situation at school.

We were fortunate that we had the right conditions to make these food days safe for our daughter. The supervision at lunch was really important. There was one adult to supervise about 18 - 20 children in her primary years (JK - grade 3). She is now in a class of 30 students but that doesn't really concern me a great deal. Her friends know what to do on hot lunch days and she is able to look out for herself now that she is older.

Just thought that I would share our experience of hot lunch days.

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11 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
9 year old son - no allergies